Now in the time of these rulers, according to the evangelist, when Tiberius Caesar was in the fifteenth year of his reign and Pontius Pilate in the fourth year of his governorship, while Herod, Lysanias, and Philip were tetrarchs over the rest of Judaea, our Saviour and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, "beginning to be about thirty years old," came to the baptism of John and at that time made the beginning of his preaching according to the gospel.
The divine Scripture says that he carried on the whole period of his teaching while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, indicating that within the years that fall between the priestly service of these two the entire time of his teaching was completed; for since it began during the high priesthood of Annas and continued until the rule of Caiaphas, the intervening span does not amount to a full four years.
For since the ordinances appointed by the law had by that time already in some measure been done away, the rule was abolished by which the duties pertaining to the service of God were held for life and by hereditary succession; and the high priesthood, being entrusted by the Roman governors now to one man, now to another, was held by each for no more than a single year.
Josephus, then, relates that four high priests in succession arose between Annas and Caiaphas, speaking thus in the same work of the Antiquities: "Valerius Gratus, having deposed Ananus from the priesthood, appointed as high priest Ishmael the son of Phabi. And when he had removed him too, not long afterward, he installed as high priest Eleazar the son of Ananus the high priest."
"And when a year had passed, he removed this one also and handed over the high priesthood to Simon the son of Kamithus. But neither did this man hold the office for more than a year, and Joseph, who is also called Caiaphas, was his successor."
Thus the whole time of the teaching of our Saviour is shown to be not even a full four years, since in those four years four high priests, from Annas to the appointment of Caiaphas, had each completed a yearly term of service. The Scripture of the gospel has fittingly designated Caiaphas as high priest of the year in which the saving passion was accomplished; and from this very fact the time of Christ's teaching is shown to be in no way discordant with the foregoing observation.
But indeed our Saviour and Lord, not long after the beginning of his preaching, called the twelve apostles, whom alone of all his other disciples he named apostles as a special honour. And again he appointed seventy others, whom likewise he sent out two by two before his face into every place and city where he himself was about to come.